Glossary
Earnings
The funding generated by delivery as recorded in the ILR, accrued as the year progresses.
In full
Earnings are what the submitted data has generated so far. They are recalculated at every return across the whole year, so they can move both up and down as data changes.
Reconciling earnings to the finance ledger monthly is what turns a year-end surprise into a manageable in-year conversation.
The rules behind this
Each ILR return is a complete restatement of the funding year to date, not an increment. Every return replaces the last, which is why an error introduced late can change earnings already reported.
Where this comes up
scenario
Earnings fall sharply after a bulk data update
A bulk update is applied to a cohort and the next funding report shows a material fall. Where do you look?
diagnostic
An aim is on the ILR but generates no funding
The aim validates and appears on the ILR, but generates no earnings. Validation and funding are different tests: a record can be perfectly valid and still not qualify for funding.
diagnostic
An apprentice is on the ILR but is not generating any payments
The apprentice exists on the ILR and looks correct, but no earnings are being generated for them. Apprenticeship funding depends on the ILR and the apprenticeship service agreeing, so a record that is perfect in one and absent or different in the other produces nothing.
diagnostic
Funding dropped this month and nobody can explain why
The funding report for this period shows less than expected, or less than last period. Because every return restates the whole year, a change made this month can move earnings reported in earlier months, so the drop may have nothing to do with this month's delivery.
scenario
A new finance director asks why income moved
A finance director new to further education sees earnings fall in a month where recruitment was strong. The explanation is in the mechanism.
scenario
Adult delivery is running above the allocation
By May, adult skills earnings are tracking above the allocation. What can be done, and what evidence is needed?
Sources
These are the official documents this page rests on. Where a figure, a deadline or an exact rule matters, the document is the authority and this page is the explanation.
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